The first half of the year is nearly over. As H1 enters its dying days, bankers’ hopes of achieving new front office jobs beut. “The shutters tend to come down on recruitment in the next couple of months,” declares a headhunter ominously in Financial News today. Until then, he says that, “banks are attempting to fill their ‘must have’ requirements now that the annual bonus cycle is over.”

So who are big banks trying to muster in the embers of the first half? We’ve scrutinized the hiring websites of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Below are our conclusions about their preferred and most interesting recruits now.

Goldman Sachs’ asset management aspirations are no secret. Nor are its wealth management aspirations. We reported in April that GSAM was doing some heavy hiring. And Goldman has been building its European wealth management business since at least 2014, with a goal of building up a $5bn loan book by 2019.

This might be why Goldman is currently advertising 32 jobs in its EMEA asset and wealth management businesses compared to just 14 in its investment banking division.

Desired hires include various associate and vice president level private wealth advisors in London, several analyst/associate level traders for the investment management business, and an executive director responsible for communications within the EMEA and Asian investment management business.

2. Goldman Sachs wants technology professionals in Warsaw

Is Goldman Sachs building a technology hub in Warsaw? Apparently not, but it’s certainly hiring quite a few people there. Technology remains one of Goldman’s key hiring areas and the Polish capital is a focal point for Goldman’s tech hiring in Europe. The firm currently has around 18 technology vacancies in Warsaw, amounting to 25% of its tech vacancies in Europe.

Derivatives clearing remains an area of focus. Goldman wants some commodities derivatives clearing analysts. It wants some derivatives settlements analysts (also in Warsaw). It wants several derivatives clearing confirmations analysts and associates in London…

4. J.P. Morgan wants ‘client rationalization’ professionals in London

Like HSBC, J.P. Morgan is trying to reduce the number of clients it deals with. During its investor presentation in February, the bank laid out its intention to ‘optimize’ its client base in an effort to save costs and dump clients who don’t bring in big revenues. That euphemism has since been replaced by the phrase ‘client rationalization.’ Accordingly, JPM is hiring a client rationalization analyst. Until recently, it was also hiring a client ‘offboarding’ professional.

5. J.P. Morgan wants associates for its London investment banking team in London

One thing seems likely to remain constant in the second half: banks’ desire to experienced juniors for their M&A teams. J.P. Morgan alone is looking for associates for its UK consumer, retail and healthcare team, for its EMEA metals and mining team, and for its EMEA industrials team.

6. J.P. Morgan wants someone to join a new team working on ‘VaR methodology’ in London

When J.P. Morgan made a massive loss in its chief investment office (CIO) in 2012, the bank’s Value at Risk (VaR) models were widely blamed. This might be why JPM says it’s now building a new team specially to look at ‘VaR methodologies.’ This team is hiring a VP to lead ‘VaR methodology development.’

7. Morgan Stanley wants a cyber intelligence analyst in Glasgow

Most banks are building their cyber-security teams. Morgan Stanley is no exception. But while Goldman Sachs has been seeking cyber security people in Dallas, Morgan Stanley is looking for professionals to work in…Glasgow. It wants an associate level cyber intelligence analyst to work in the city. Among other things, the role includes researching ‘threat actors.’

Over the counter (OTC) collateral management is also a hot area. As OTC derivatives are increasingly cleared through centralized counterparties, so those counterparties are demanding high quality collateral to reduce their credit exposure. In 2011, Morgan Stanley had 100 people working in collateral management and said it had plans to ‘substantially’ grow that team. That doesn’t seem to have happened – the bank’s collateral management team is still only 100 strong, but it is hiring – there are five OTC collateral related jobs currently available in Glasgow alone.

If you thought banks only hired ‘top graduates’ into top roles, you were wrong. Morgan Stanley wants people with ‘top class undergraduate degrees’ to work in its ‘market data watch’ team in London. Analysts in the team are tasked with producing market reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, and at clients’ behest.